


you know, like, nya?

by strangelysweet



Category: Persona 5
Genre: ;), Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bets & Wagers, Bickering, Everybody Lives, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Matchmaking, Sexual Tension, Sort Of, Tenderness, hehe, i took canon and i stuffed it in the garbage disposal and i now won't touch the goop it left behind, it's v fluffy for my usual stuff, maid outfits, medium spice, very brief mika/ann mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:36:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28384878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangelysweet/pseuds/strangelysweet
Summary: "You talk about me, do you?"Ren promptly drops the barstool. "What? No, I don't. I didn't say anything."Lifting her head up from the table, Futaba rubs at the red splotch on her forehead. "He does talk about you, like, all the time. 'Ooh, Akechi this - Akechi that!' I swear to God if I hear one more thing about your b-""It's all good things!" Ren swears, waving his palms in front of his chest. "Mostly stuff about your observations in class."Ryuji lets out a loud cackle, slapping Yusuke on the back. "More like his observations about you in class."Groaning loudly, Ren shoots the blond a look that could kill a small animal. "Sakamoto Ryuji, I will end you.""Tough talk for someone in a maid outfit. What're you gonna do? 'Nya' me to death?" Ryuji retorts, mimicking little cat paws to accentuate his mockery.---Ren carries out his unusual punishment for losing a bet, not expecting a surprise guest to drop in.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Amamiya Ren & Kitagawa Yusuke, Mika/Takamaki Ann, Sakura Futaba & Sakura Sojiro
Comments: 4
Kudos: 101





	you know, like, nya?

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Mild Sexual Content, Swearing
> 
> i have claimed a beta reader!! thanks so much to @sailorshroom for helping me out and providing a-grade content to break through my writer's block. these twinks are yours by right.

"Why the fuck," Says Akechi Goro, "is Ren wearing a maid outfit?" 

Ren hides his face in his hands, muttering something that sounds like the Lord's Prayer, but Goro always fell asleep during Sunday school, so his knowledge of praying is a little iffy. Even with his face hidden, Goro can see that the tips of his ears are bright red. No, he does _not_ mean the attachable cat ears with the silver bells on them. Futaba chuckles, filming the entire thing with glee. It's the most prominent case of schadenfreude Goro has ever seen. 

Lamentably, there is a rather large group of idiots sitting in Leblanc, and Ren's ridiculous friends make up most of them. The model, Ann, he recalls, twirls her blonde hair around her finger. Goro tries not to get too invested in his classmate's lives outside of lectures, but Amamiya Ren has a whirlpool effect similar to Charybdis; once he sinks his teeth of friendship into you, a many-headed beast goes for your throat. That many-headed beast is also known as Takamaki, Sakamoto, Kitagawa, Niijima, Sakura, and Okumura. 

"Ren lost a bet. This is his punishment." She says, a slow smile spreading across her face. 

Reminding himself not to cross her, Goro sits down at the bar, draping his coat over a barstool. "Pray tell, what bet did he lose?" 

Much to his displeasure, it's the other blonde's turn to speak. Ryuji chuckles, his legs crossed over the table. "He lost to me! Ren said I couldn't beat him at poker." 

"I did not!" Ren protests, gathering the ruffled fabric of his skirt. "You proposed the bet, and I-" 

"You took it, Ren," Makoto says, not looking up from her book. 

Perhaps he was a little harsh earlier. Although Ren is many things, vicious and monstrous, he is not. Ren is compassionate and encouraging but rather shy with people he's not familiar with, preferring to listen rather than speak. In Goro's Philosophy class, Ren seems to be the only other person who's not in it for the politician career build. And, to top it off with complete honesty, Goro thinks he's rather cute. 

"Oh, Ren-kun!" A gentle voice calls out. "Would you mind?" 

Okumura Haru points daintily to a china tea set she's placed on the bar's counter, wicked, sadistic amusement in her eyes. Bristling as she comes close, Goro eyes her with suspicion. "I wasn't aware he was... Serving." 

Futaba chuckles, still in her high school uniform. "Oh, we _all_ get a go with Ren. In fact, I think you should get one too." 

Blanching, Goro turns to fetch his coat. "Oh, no, I really am not at all interested. I'll see you later, preferably without the lace stockings." 

Wait, lace stockings? He checks again, and much to his dreadful pleasure, Ren is indeed wearing white thigh-highs with lace garters. Swallowing down a noise that rises in the back of his throat, Goro gropes blindly for his coat on the barstool, his eyes stuck on the white lace frills. 

"You're leaving so soon, Akechi-kun?" Haru asks, her tone inflecting just so, causing chills to writhe across Goro's skin. As her manicured hands firmly close around his shoulders and guide him to a seat at the bar, he swears he sees his life flash before his eyes. 

Haru is the most formidable Business major that Goro has ever met. Although standing at a measly 5'2, the young woman had a mind so finely honed for marketing that her father awarded her a privately owned tea company for her eighteenth birthday. Crossing her, he thinks, means death. 

"Haru, please, he doesn't deserve this," Ren pleads, clasping his hands in front of his mouth and resting his index fingers on the bridge of his nose. 

Futaba cackles, her glasses flaring behind the flash of her iPhone camera. "Nah, he totally does." 

Snapping her fingers sharply, Haru points to the china tea set and then the pot of warm tea on the counter. "Hush, now, I asked you to do something." 

Sighing, Ren walks over to the counter, the heels of his shoes clicking on the wood. As he reaches over the counter, the hem of his skirt brushes slightly against Goro's shoulder. A rush of the borrowed perfume hits the brown-haired boy like a sledgehammer to the face, the sweet scent of lavender and coffee flooding his senses as Ren looks over his shoulder. 

"I'm so sorry," He mutters, laughing slightly, "I completely understand if you want to move to another city." 

Entranced by the smell, Goro leans his elbows against the counter and smiles haphazardly up at him. "There's no need for that now, is there?" 

Ryuji chuckles, nudging the blue-haired Yusuke next to him. The artist knowingly locks eyes with Goro, huffs out a laugh, and starts scribbling onto a sketchpad. Ren turns on his heel, carrying the tray over to Haru's table. Raising an eyebrow, she takes a sip of her tea, closing her eyes. As she exhales, a satisfied smile grows on her face. 

"You have really outdone yourself, dear." She says fondly, patting the dark-haired boy's hand. 

Snorting, Ann collapses into giggles as she takes in the sight of her friend in a surprisingly high-quality maid outfit and cat ears. Makoto hides a smile behind her book, raising the pages higher to mask her face. Haru waits expectantly for Ren to clear the table, then checks an ornate gold pocket watch from inside her expensive-looking blazer. 

"Goodness, it's awfully late. I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave." She announces, leaving her seat and pecking each person in the room on each cheek. "It was wonderful to see you all, but I'm afraid I've got a meeting with the board of directors tonight." 

Just as Ren opens his mouth, raising his hands to the buttons on the back of the dress, Haru wags her finger at him. "Oh, no, no, no. You get to keep it. You still have to repay Ryuji for your harmful assumption that he's bad at poker." 

Unable to keep it in, Makoto giggles loudly, the book falling into her lap as she clings to Ann in her hysterics. Goro watches Ren sigh, his face flushing red as Yusuke motions for him to turn to the side, the pencil scratching away at the paper. 

The afternoon soon dwindles into the evening, and as Ren slowly carries out his friends' increasingly ridiculous demands, Goro grows comfortable enough to tease him. Futaba demands that he cleans the counter. 

"But sexily!" She adds, "It's imperative that you do it sexy!" 

Wrinkling his nose, Ren stares at the short girl. "How on earth am I mean to clean the counter ' _sexily_?'" 

Ann brushes her pigtails off of her shoulders and leans forward, imitating Ren's voice. "Oh, no! There's a spot here... I should just - Oops!"

She slides Makoto's book off of the table, then gets up to retrieve it, bending over with her legs straightening out and her butt in the air. " - I dropped my sponge." 

Snorting with laughter, Ryuji hits the counter with his hand as his shoulders shake, wheezing. "Ren, oh my God, man. You gotta do it just like Ann." 

A bereaved expression on his face, Ren looks to Goro for sympathy. He receives none. "You heard her. Give us a show." 

Enlightened, Futaba squeals. "Get on the counter! Get up on the counter and do it!" 

"In heels?" Ren all but shrieks. Contrary to his protests, the dark-haired boy clambers onto a chair, gripping Goro's arm as the heels of his shoes wobble on the soft fabric of the seat. As he looks down, his eyes meet Goro's with a look that he can't even begin to make sense of. 

Once again, the scent of lavender and coffee drown out all of Goro's other senses. Offering Ren a hand as he climbs onto the counter, he gets a quick flash of the lace garters again, this time noticing the black ribbon tied in neat little bows to keep them up. Ann grins as he raises a hand to his mouth, fingernails tracing the curve of his bottom lip. 

"Yeah! Just like that, give us some innocence!" She cheers. 

Rolling his eyes, Ren is quick to scoff at her "advice," but a stern look from Makoto encourages him to accept her guidance with surprising enthusiasm. As she directs him to do this and that with his arms and hips, Goro glances down at Yusuke's sketchpad. On the paper, slightly smudged, are many pencil drawings of Ren. They're all of high quality, especially for sketches so rushed, but they all have a lifeless, doll-like expression. Yusuke catches him staring and angles the notepad so Goro can see all of the pencil drawings. One he hasn't seen before, one with two figures interacting, is the only sketch that's got the life-life definition the others lack. Goro sees himself on the paper, his hand gently grasped in Ren's. Looking down at his paper face with such a gentle, tender expression, Ren smiles at him. 

Goro looks up and is about to question the artist when Ann shrieks with delight. "Yes! Well done! You're glowing!" 

Ren is indeed glowing as he kneels on the counter, one hand planted on the bar and the other engulfed in his dark curls. Swallowing down a sigh, Goro fights to keep his face from coloring as Ren's dark eyes travel down to meet his. 

Ryuji eyes Ren with a look that can only mean disaster, and as he opens his mouth to speak, Goro prays to whatever God might be out there for mercy. "Futaba, this good enough for you?" 

The ginger-haired girl frowns. "I mean, I get the whole cutesy thing he's got going on, but honestly? My camera is only _partially_ on fire." 

"Oh, good grief," Makoto sighs, laughing into her hand as she looks to the floor. 

Ann sighs, tossing her hair over her shoulders. Using Goro's head as a way to keep her balance, she inelegantly climbs onto the bar, joining Ren with dreadful enthusiasm. "Okay, you've really gotta give it your all this time. What would Mika do?" 

"Are we really referring to what your evil girlfriend does in shoots?" Ryuji asks, his tone falling flat. 

Ann stamps her foot on the bar, shaking her head. "She's not my girlfriend!" 

"You just wish she was," Futaba nods sagely, pulling out a bag of Doritos. 

"Ugh! Shut up, and let me teach Ren how to be sexy!" Yells Ann and Goro stares on in trepidation as she motions for him to hike the skirt even further up his leg. "Okay, now straighten out and bend over." 

Resting his hand on his knee, Ren draws the ruffled skirt up his thigh and looks up at the camera, his face bright red and scowling. "I hate all of you." 

"Even me?" Yusuke looks up with an expression of hurt on his face as if he wasn't immortalizing the moment with another sketch. 

Ren squints at him, scanning the sketchpad and then the artist's kicked-puppy face. "Thin ice." 

Suddenly, Futaba's phone starts playing the intro theme of the season three Featherman show, and she yelps, nearly dropping it. "H-Hey, Sojiro."

There is a mad scramble to get off the bar, and Ann leaps back into the booth, nothing thinking to help Ren, who trips and falls forward. Sending a quick mental note to write up his will, Goro shoots his arms forward, grabbing Ren by the waist and bracing himself for the fall. In a tangle of ribbons, lace, and limbs, the pair fall backward onto the barstool. Goro looks up at Ren, whose legs press against his sides as they try to stay perfectly still. 

"Yeah, everything's just peachy," Futaba says, frantically scrambling to wipe off the prints that Ann and Ren left on the wood surface of the bar. "Oh, just a few friends. Ann, Makoto, Yusuke, Ryuji, that Akechi guy Ren talks about so much." 

The chair that "That Akechi Guy" and Ren are barely sitting on leans back on its back legs, and as Goro looks up to ask Ren, "You talk about me?" it tips over, sending them flying backward. 

Ann winces, sucking in a breath through her teeth. All color drains from Futaba's face as the crash echoes through the café. Everyone hears the panicked voice of Sojiro as he asks what the sound was, and Goro feels his soul depart his body. Not only is everyone scared to move, but Ren is splayed out across his torso, gripping the back of the barstool on the floor. A snort of laughter breaks the silence. 

"Holy shit," Ryuji breathes.

"It was, uh," Futaba blanks on her answer, and desperately tugs Makoto's sleeve for help, "I think it was..." 

As confused as Futaba, Makoto cannot come up with a plausible answer and simply opens her mouth and closes it, similar to that of a fish on a hook. Ann blurts out the first, honest thing that comes to mind.

"Ren just fell onto Akechi."

"Ren fell," Sojiro repeats slowly, "on top of Akechi?" 

Motioning for Goro to confirm Ann's statement, Ren nods towards the phone Futaba holds out to his face. Lifting his head up slightly, Goro coughs. "Yeah. We're, uh, currently on the floor." 

Makoto breathes a sigh of relief, slumping down in her seat. A pointed cough comes from the receiver. "Why don't you just get up?" 

"Ah," Goro says. 

"We, um, didn't think of that." Admits Ren, who lets go of the barstool. 

Futaba snatches the phone back, yelling into the receiver as she hangs up. "Okaythankyoubye!" 

Everyone collectively exhales a heavy sigh, and Ren collapsed, his head resting on Goro's chest as he laughed breathlessly. Desperate to avoid the piercing stare of Yusuke and the teasing gaze of Ryuji, Goro gently patted Ren's shoulder, grimacing slightly as the pressure on his chest shifted. 

"Ah, shit, right." The dark-haired boy gets up, dusting the damned apron and frilled skirt off, then offering Goro a hand. "Sorry about that." 

Trying to ignore the snickers from Ann in the background, Goro shakes his head. "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you." 

Futaba slumps down in one of the booth seats, plonking her face on the table like a tired cat. As Ren picks up the barstool and places it back, so it sits neatly back in its place, Goro raises an eyebrow. 

"You talk about me, do you?" 

Ren promptly drops the barstool. "What? No, I don't. I didn't say anything." 

Lifting her head up from the table, Futaba rubs at the red splotch on her forehead. "He does talk about you, like, all the time. 'Ooh, Akechi this - Akechi that!' I swear to God if I hear one more thing about your b-"

"It's all good things!" Ren swears, waving his palms in front of his chest. "Mostly stuff about your observations in class." 

Ryuji lets out a loud cackle, slapping Yusuke on the back. "More like _his_ observations about you in class." 

Groaning loudly, Ren shoots the blond a look that could kill a small animal. "Sakamoto Ryuji, I will end you."

"Tough talk for someone in a maid outfit. What're you gonna do? 'Nya' me to death?" Ryuji retorts, mimicking little cat paws to accentuate his mockery. 

Unexpectedly, Ann places a hand on Goro's forehead. "You're kinda red, Goro." 

"What?" He untucks his hair from behind his ears, looking over his shoulder at the absolutely riveting floor, trying to hide the blush that's spread across his face. "No, I think it's just the light." 

A sudden gasp brings the group's attention to Makoto, who stands up, grabbing her jacket. "I've got to go. My sister wants to go out for dinner tonight, and I'm wearing my Uchimaru sweatshirt." 

Upon closer inspection, Makoto is indeed wearing her Uchimaru sweatshirt. Tiny little pandas balefully stare up at Goro as Makoto rushes past him, whirling through the door with a very hasty goodbye. As she leaves, Ryuji checks his sports watch. For a moment, Goro thinks he's borrowing Ren's, as he's sure that he has the same one as the red watch wrapped around Ryuji's wrist. Or, he thinks, they must have matching watches. The thought wriggles unpleasantly in his mind that Ren and Ryuji have tokens of their bond and Goro doesn't. 

"Shit, my ma wants me to get ingredients for dinner tonight. Yusuke, are you still up for meetin' her?" Ryuji interrupts Goro's train of thought. 

Yusuke looks up, nodding vigorously. "Yes, please. Your mother makes a wonderful beef bowl." 

"Dude, just move in," Ryuji shakes his head, "you gotta eat. I don't care if I sleep on the couch, if I hafta force-feed you a protein shake to keep you from passing out one more time, I'm gonna cry."

As the pair gather their things, Ryuji types something into his phone, then looking pointedly up at Ann, who unsubtly winks at him. As they both meet Goro's withering stare, they visibly deflate, but Ryuji perks up enough to slap Ren on the back as he leaves, leaning close to whisper in his ear. Unable to hear it, Goro watches on in confusion as Ren's face instantly flushes red, and he starts to fiddle with the hem of his skirt. 

Ann instantly hauls Futaba out of the booth, ignoring her mewls of fury as she complains about losing a game. "We're gonna go watch a movie. Futaba promised me she'd show me her vintage DVDs of the old Sailor Moon episodes that aired in the 90s." 

Futaba instantly perks up. "Oh, yeah! C'mon, hurry, _hurry_!" 

Tugging Ann out of the café, Futaba shoots Ren a shit-eating grin as she leaves, watching him flounder. Ann waves through the window, sending him a quick wink. 

"So," Ren says, awkwardly twisting the hem of his skirt in his hands. "I'm sorry they dragged you into this." 

Goro looks at the floor, pointedly avoiding looking at the lowcut neckline of the maid dress. "Oh, it's fine. I've sat through worse." 

Ren sighs, unclipping the cat ears from his unruly hair. "They're somewhat rather aggressive when it comes to inclusivity. I promise they actually like you." 

Finally mustering the courage to look his friend in the eye, Goro pushes his hair out of his face, watching him untangle the bell from his hair. Of course, he barely makes it a few seconds before his eyes drift downward. The dress itself seems to be made of fine-quality material, and the cut is well-fitting to Ren's slender form. A small bow is tied beneath the collar at the base of Ren's throat, and a waistcoat-like bodice attaches to the shoulders, spouting frills in all directions. Goro has to give it to Haru; everything she owns looks good. Brought out of his thoughts by the dress turning around, Goro looks up, smiling as if he wasn't just checking out his friend in a dress.

"Could you, um," Ren bites his lip, his hands drifting to the zipper in the back of the dress, "I can't reach?" 

Goro blinks. "Do you really want to do that in front of the café window?" 

Looking up, Ren watches a woman pass by on her phone, staring through the window with a strange look on her face. "Yeah, you're right. The attic should be better." 

Ren leads Goro upstairs, switching the lights on as he emerges into the attic space. Polaroids of numerous friends and locations hang from the ceiling beams, and the camera itself sits on a bookshelf, nestled amongst textbooks and fiction alike. Ren smiles softly, doing a little spin as he gestures to the attic space. Goro notes that the bed is propped up on milk crates and tries to not think very hard about how it feels to sleep on it, let alone - 

"Well, this is my room." Ren interrupts his train of thoughts. Thank God. "It's not much, but it does the job." 

Goro smiles back at him, resting his hand on the bookshelf. "It's nice. Looks far more lived-in than my apartment." 

Turning back around to face his friend, Goro waits for him to turn around. As if he had forgotten why they were up there, Ren simply gives him a polite smile. Goro clears his throat. 

"Uh, the zipper?" 

Ren's dark eyes widen, and he turns around to show Goro the back of the dress. Goro tries the zipper, but as the world is obviously trying its best to be as inconvenient as possible today, it appears to be stuck. He huffs out an agitated sigh and tries the zipper again, but to no avail. 

"It's stuck." He states. 

Ren groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Haru mentioned the zipper was finicky." 

"Hold on," Goro says, tugging at the bottom of the skirt to straighten the fabric of any creases and pulls down on the zipper once more. "Damn, it's really stuck."

Quietly, Ren yelps as the tips of Goro's fingers brush just above where the stockings end. Swallowing down a scream, Goro yanks the damned zipper down and the fabric parts, freeing Ren from his cat maid prison. 

"Thanks," Ren stares at the floor, his hand resting just below his chin. 

He clears his throat, eyeing how Ren's index fingers trace over the curve of his bottom lip and the vivid dusting of red that coats his cheeks. Praying to whatever God out there that he's not overstepping any boundaries, Goro gently slides the dress off Ren's shoulder, his hand sliding just above the warm skin. Shivering, the dark-haired boy turns his head to the side, looks up at Goro through his eyelashes. 

"Goro..." He starts, but trails off as his eyes drift down, breaking the eye contact that froze the taller boy in his tracks.

"Yeah?" Goro breathes, his hand lingering on the curve of Ren's shoulder. He's close enough that when he speaks, his breath ghosts over the back of Ren's neck, and he's completely unsure of what to do with that knowledge. That was a lie. He can think of a _lot_ of things. As he leans slightly closer, he can feel the skin beneath his hand erupt into goosebumps, and Ren flinches. 

Goro brings his other hand up to the small of his friend's (?) back. "Hey, Ren?"

"Y-Yes?" He stutters, answering quickly and eagerly. 

As he studies the floor with intense interest, Ren's finger moves across his mouth, and if Goro strains his ears, he can hear his rushed breathing. A part of him likes the power he has to make someone as cute as Ren flustered, but another part of him is equally as terrified. Slowly, his left-hand slides back over to the nape of Ren's neck, fiddling with a curl that rests above the shell of his ear. 

"Look at me." He asks softly, gently taking Ren's face in his hand. 

Complying, Ren turns around, the puffed-out sleeves of his dress shifting slightly. Riding on the adrenaline high coursing through his veins, Goro mentally prepares himself for a leap of faith into the darkness of fractured relationships. 

"You're so pretty like this." He says, his voice effortlessly smooth, thanks to all of the fake confidence he built up as a teenager. 

Ren's breath stutters in his chest as he tilts his head to the side, his eyelashes fluttering like wings. But his expression hardens, and his brow knots as he frowns. "Don't lie to me, Goro." 

Frowning as well, the brown-haired boy shakes his head, gripping Ren's face a little tighter. "I wouldn't lie to you. I mean it, you're beautiful." 

Unable to speak, the shorter boy can only gaze up at him, his hand drifting up to rest on Goro's chest. As he slides his hand into Ren's dark hair, Goro tilts his head to the side, his gaze heavy-lidded. 

"If I could, I'd want to - " He cuts himself off, but Ren's hand grips the fabric of his shirt. 

"What?" 

He doesn't answer, somehow finding it in himself to grow shy. Ren takes this opportunity to lean forward, a slow smile spreading across his face. "What do you want to do?" 

Imagine that Akechi Goro is standing on a precipice. If he looks over the edge, there is a drop into an uncharted territory called "More-Than-Just-Friends." If he turns back from the cliff, there is a large, comfortable house called "Suppressing-Your-Emotions-Because-Who-Needs-Them-Anyway." Ren's voice just now was a gush of wind that pushes him, somersaulting, off of that cliff, and into the stormy, kind of warm, for some reason, waters. Something about the sudden burst of confidence in his friend's face lights a fire in the pit of his stomach, and Goro realizes he physically cannot go another day suppressing his feelings, which regrettably means his therapist was correct. God-fucking-Damnit, he _hates_ when his therapist is right, usually because it means that he's wrong. 

Goro tilts Ren's chin up slightly, and as the confident smile slowly melts into an expression of flustered excitement, he cocks his head to the side. "I'd want to kiss you." 

There is nothing Ren can do but nod, his hand sliding up Goro's shoulder to grip the fabric tightly. "I'm okay with that." 

Slowly, as if pushing too hard would break him, Goro leans down, pressing his lips to Ren's. A surprised squeak comes from Ren's muffled mouth, and as Goro pulls back, he raises his hand to his lips as if he was trying to catch the kiss. 

"Was that okay?" Goro asks tentatively, worried he'd once again stepped too far. 

Ren grabs him by the front of his shirt and pushes him up against the wall, kissing him hard. Hesitantly placing his hands on either side of Ren's waist, Goro blinks in surprise as he bites his lip, tilting his head to the side to get a better angle. As he leans back, his eyes are heavy-lidded, and his fingers thread through strands of Goro's hair. 

"Did that answer your question?" He breathes, face flushed red. 

Goro raises an eyebrow, placing a lofty look on his face as he shrugs. "I'm not sure. Anomalies often show up when collecting data. We should probably -" 

"Oh, shut up, you stupid nerd," Ren mutters, yanking him down by the collar mid-sentence. 

When Ren kisses him, he tastes like coffee and smells like the lavender perfume Goro smelled earlier, smooth around the edges and soft against his tongue. He slides a hand into Ren's hair, entwining his fingers in the dark curls as Ren smiles into his mouth, laughing softly. Slowly, Ren's hands fall to his shirt, fumbling with the buttons as he tries to stay as close to Goro as possible, breathless between kisses. 

"This is," He pauses to catch his breath, "unusually difficult." 

Unable to help himself, Goro smirks. Ren frowns, squinting at him incredulously. "Stop that. I know that face. It's your bad behavior face." 

"I'll show you bad behavior," He retorts, grabbing the back of his button-up and tugging it over his head. 

As he tosses it to the floor, he leans down, pressing his mouth just underneath Ren's jaw and grazing his lips gently over his neck. The dress slips down, and Ren inhales sharply as his mouth hits a sensitive spot by his throat, his legs growing weak beneath him. Slowly, as to avoid bumping into any stray boxes or other attic debris, Ren walks backward until he leans back on the sofa next to the desk. Goro finds himself being pulled forward by the belt loops onto Ren's lap, his knees sinking into the cushion. A shiver runs down his spine when Ren presses a gentle kiss to his sternum.

Goro leans back as the dark-haired boy pulls the dress over his head and leaves it to the side, averting his eyes as he does so. Feeling Ren's hands start to shake, he softly places a hand on his shoulder. 

"We don't have to do this if you don't want it." He assures him. 

Ren shakes his head. "I know. I do." 

Looping his hands around the back of the brown-haired boy's neck, Ren surges up to kiss him, smiling as he does so. A quiet hum resonates in the back of his throat, and he curls his fingers into Goro's hair. 

Ryuji swallows the last few rice grains with his soda and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Yusuke frowns, reaching up to tuck a strand of dark hair behind his ear. 

"What's eating you?" Ryuji asks, taking his bowl and placing it in the sink. 

Shaking his head, the artist waves it away, but a stern look from his friend is enough to force it out. "What did you tell Ren before we left? He seemed rather flustered by it." 

Laughing, the blonde-haired boy turns around to face him, leaning back on the counter. "I told him that it was Akechi's turn. You should have heard the curses he called me. It was hilarious." 

Yusuke sighs. "You tease him far too much! His poor heart can't take it."

"Yeah, you say that, but _my_ heart can't take any more of his puppy-dog eyes to that Akechi guy." Ryuji rolls his neck, wincing as something pops. "Some people just need a push, you get me?" 

"You may be right." Yusuke concedes. "Although you're no cupid." 

"Hey!" He protests, "I'd make a great cupid! I'm fucking _adorable_!" 

Wincing, the artist sniffs. "Let's agree to disagree." 

**Author's Note:**

> i want you all to know that the words "milk crates" kept autocorrecting to "milf crates" after i joked too much about the original typo with my beta reader.


End file.
